Nutrition for Preschool and Kindergarten

Preschool and Kindergarten Printables

Included in this theme are three related emergent readers that would be used to develop the concept of nutrition, as well as, teach early reading skills. The videos demonstrate how the readers are used as a valuable teaching tool.

Printable Reader 1

The "Healthy Food Story" is an informational reader about how making good food choices helps us be healthy.

Printable Reader 2

The reader "Colorful Food" offers a review on colors and color words.

Reader 3

"Alphabet Healthy Food Book" is a mini-reader which is a review of initial letter sounds related to different foods, e.g., "a" is for apple.

Preschool and Kindergarten Nutrtition Activities for Literacy

After, reading the mini-reader "Alphabet Healthy Food Book" the children would play the alphabet game demonstrated in the video. Each player (partner game) would be given a different board with pictures of healthy food choices. Each player takes a turn drawing a letter card. If they draw a card representing the beginning sound of a picture found on their board, they place it on that picture; otherwise it is placed in the discarded pile. The discarded pile is used after the original letter cards have been used. The first player to have their game board covered with the correct letter cards is the winner.

Pre-Kindergarten Literacy Centers

Literacy Center One - Cruising Around the Food Pyramid
Playing partners take turns rolling a die and moving their game players around the food pyramid according to the amount displayed. They must match the letter they landed on with the found on the letter chart.

Litearcy Center Two - Initial Sound Food Game
Playing parnters take turns drawing a food picture card. They must determine the initial sound heard and either print or mark the corresponding letter on the blackline masters provided.

Literacy Three - Roll A Rhyme Food Game
Playing partners take turns rolling a die and moving their game players around the rhyming board. Each player must determine what picture matches with the one they landed on to that found on their rhyming chart.

Food Sorting Game
In the theme unit you will find color, black and white food pictures from each food group. These can be used for sorting purposes.

Smart Board Activities

Students will be listening and matching the correct food pictures with their rhyming partners. They will also be sorting pictures according to if they are healthy and unhealthy choices.

Preschool and Kindergarten Writing on Nutrition

The food templates found in the member's area could be used to make a shape book. Each child would dictate a sentence about what they have learned about eating healthy. The teacher would model the writing process by printing what the child dictates on chart paper. This could be used as a model for the children to follow to complete their own writing project.

Printing Ideas

Ideas for the children to practice printing letters can be found in the link below:

Preschool and Kindergarten Crafts for Nutrition

Preschool-Kindergarten Craft 1 - Fruit Art

Contrasting Fruit Prints

Secure a piece of paper with painter's masking tape (this prevents the paper from curling). Have the children wash the paper with bright colors. After, one of the fruit templates provided would be traced on black construction paper, cut and glued on the colorful background paper. In contrast, paint the same fruit template, cut and glue it on a black background.

Fruit-Rainbow Art

After reading the emergent reader "Colorful Food" and the literature selection "I Eat a Rainbow" the children could complete the fruit-rainbow craft. I enlarged the template provided and the students colored the rainbow using oil pastels.

Paint Resist Fruit Art

The children would color one of the fruit templates with wax crayons or oil pastels. After, they would paint around the template using different bright colors (paint should be quite thin). The children don't have to be concerned about the paint going on top of their colored picture as it should resist it. The picture would be glued to construction paper after it has dried.

Egg Art (Representing the Meat Group)

The eggs would be colored with wax crayons or oil pastels using different colors. After, a thin blue paint would be washed over the eggs.

Humorous Bread Craft

The children would create a funny looking slice of bread by adding human-like features.

All craft templates are found in the member's area.

Healthy Food Basket

The children would paint and cut the basket. After, they would add pictures of healthy food choices that they would add to the basket. They could use the pictures provided or ones from supermarket advertisements.

Balanced Meal Craft

The children would choose one picture from each food group to paste on a paper plate. The ones provided could be used or pictures from supermarket advertisements.

Preschool-Kindergarten Math

Math Objectives Met in this Theme

Students identify, sort, and classify objects by attribute and identify objects that do not belong to a particular group. The children will sort picture cards according to if they represent a healthy choice or poor choice. The cards could also be sorted according to food group.

Students understand the concept that objects have properties, such as length, weight and capacity. Suggestions are provided within the theme unit.

Students collect information about objects and events in their environment and record results using objects, pictures, and picture graphs. Using the pictures found within the theme unit would be used to make pictographs.

Students will also estimate, count, name, and order a number of objects to 30.

Preschool-Kindergarten Math Program

If you are a member, you can follow the Math Focus program that has been specifically developed for meeting the curriculum instead of the above math activities.

Preschool and Kindergarten Songs

In the link below you will find the words to a song that can be sung in relation to this theme. It is sung to the tune of "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah"